


What They Want

by Zethsaire



Series: Omega Bucky Verse [3]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Boy (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Young Avengers
Genre: Alien Gender/Sexuality, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Canon Disabled Character, Domestic, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Non-binary character, Omega Bucky Barnes, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rimming, Sex Toys, Shopping, Slice of Life, transgender character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:02:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3114023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zethsaire/pseuds/Zethsaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky has finally come to terms with the fact that they're non-binary.  Steve has been - amazing about it.  But they're in serious need of a new wardrobe, which prompts an all-day shopping trip.</p><p>(A fic about gender, shopping, and sex. Updates Sundays.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is technically the 3rd part in the series, but it was written second, so I'm posting it now because it's done. This fic is very dear to me. Being non-binary myself, a non-binary Bucky fic is very close to my heart.
> 
> I'll be adding warnings per each chapter. But basically this fic is all about gender exploration and gender issues, overlaying a massive shopping trip. There's language and sex, and sometimes people being dicks about Bucky's gender. There is also a very breif mention of miscarriage in this chapter.
> 
> ABO fics are not my beta's cup of tea, so please let me know if you spot any errors, they are entirely mine.
> 
> Edit: A kind person mentioned that many people may not know what non-binary even means. Honestly, Googling it might produce a more comprehensive explanation, but basically a non-binary person, like Bucky, is a transgender individual who does not identify with either male or female gender, preferring to identify differently. Since this is ABO, Bucky doesn't identify as omega or alpha, though they feel more comfortable as omega than otherwise. Bucky prefers the neutral pronoun singular they, which is conjugated as they, them, their, theirs, themself. Again, Google is your friend for more information.

“Are you sure this is okay? You're not in heat.” Steve looked down at Bucky anxiously from where he was straddling their hips.

“And I'm not in rut, either, but you _are_ Steve. And you're pretty much the most awesome Alpha ever and you don't care that I'm going out with other people later while you're in the middle of rut, so just fuck me already. You _need_ it, and I want it, so stop feeling guilty.”

“Sorry. I'm sorry.” Steve kissed them gently then, just the soft press of his lips against Bucky's own.

“Stop apologizing.”

Steve made a disgruntled sound and pressed his forehead against Bucky's chest. “I've gotten used to ignoring it for so long.”

“Well now you don't have to.”

“I know, I know. You're amazing Bucky.”

“ _I_ know. Now are you gonna fuck me Rogers, or just let that knot go to waste? I'm all prepped and everything.”

“You -” Steve said with a choked off sound.

Bucky knew Steve would try to get out of this. Six months they'd been back, and Steve still had a very hard time asking for what he needed, or taking it even when it was offered. Bucky thought they'd been the one fucked up but someone had done a number on Steve's self-confidence. He seemed almost terrified of his knot, even though Bucky had one too. Steve wasn't freaked out about Bucky's double presentation – concerned at first, but once he'd found out it wasn't physically harming Bucky, he'd been amazing about it. Steve even took their knot sometimes, even though he wasn't an omega, but he still had a hard time believing Bucky would want his own knot. It was more than a little infuriating.

“I'm not gonna break, Steve.”

“Yeah. I know. You'd break me, first.” Steve muttered, but he was finally, _finally_ putting his cock where it was supposed to go. Bucky winced a bit at the tug of the latex condom that Steve insisted on wearing, but with their luck they'd end up pregnant even when they weren't having their heat if Steve didn't wear it, so they suffered through. They longed for the time when Banner would finally come up with a birth control that would actually work on them, and then they could feel Steve's cock inside them without the latex in between. They had hazy half-memories of desperate sex without one, but they also remembered the nausea and the _sickness_ and the practically wasting away, and then the miscarriage. They didn't want to go through that again.

“You feel _so_ good Bucky,” Steve panted. His eyes were closed and he was biting his bottom lip and he was being so careful. He must have been holding back his rut for a long time, if he was this desperate. Bucky could feel his knot starting to swell already, and Steve had barely been fucking them for more than two minutes.

“'M not gonna last,” Steve said, and his teeth found Bucky's neck and bit down as Steve finally lost a little of his caution to the roiling pheromones of his rut.

“It's okay. You can jack me off when we're tied.” Bucky said. Steve stiffened a little at that, like he'd forgotten about the tie somehow, when they'd done it less than three weeks ago during Bucky's heat.

“Yeah. I should – um...mmm, yeah just a second.” Steve slipped out of them and pushed Bucky up on their knees. Bucky went, even though they didn't really like being mounted much unless they were in heat. It made the tie easier, and they'd had enough trouble getting Steve to do this without arguing about tie position. Feeling how excited Steve was and the pulse of his knot against the inside of them helped a lot. Plus they could smell the pheromones pouring off Steve and the scent was comforting – grounding. Steve wasn't going to hurt them.

“Aaaah Bucky. I'm gonna come.”

Steve had one hand on their hips and one at the base of their cock, jerking them off unsteadily as he rutted into Bucky. Steve's knot grew and Bucky could feel it when he finally caught, and started to come. Steve whimpered and licked Bucky's neck, shuddering against their back.

Unlike most omegas, Bucky knew what that felt like – the knot, the tie, coming for so damn long. So they didn't get annoyed when Steve's hands stuttered on their cock, and Steve mostly just moaned and rubbed his knot against their insides for three or four minutes. When he'd finally come down from his orgasm – and Bucky knew it could be intense, especially during rut – he helped lay them both down on the bed, still tied, but no longer in the hated mount position. He knew Bucky didn't like it.

Laying on the bed with Steve pressed up against them as a warm weight against their back and Steve's gentle hands on their cock, it didn't take long for them to come, a muffled groan coming from their mouth against the pillow, their flesh hand coming up to tangle in Steve's hair. Then the two of them laid there together, not speaking, just basking in afterglow as Steve scent marked Bucky over and over, probably trying to tell his instincts that it was going to be just fine for Bucky to go out later without him. Steve was always trying to be above his instincts, be better than his inner animal, and while Bucky appreciated the fact that they could go and do what they wanted without Steve ordering them around, sometimes they worried about how much Steve held back. When they were younger, Steve had been all instinct. Still respectful, but if Bucky was in heat or Steve was in rut or even if Bucky just asked for a little cuddle time, Steve had been all over them. Now Steve seemed reserved – scared of his own strength maybe. Bucky hadn't asked and Steve hadn't said anything, but Bucky wondered if he'd had a relationship between when Bucky had fallen from the train and when they'd seen Steve again, and if he'd hurt somebody – or if somebody had hurt him.

As soon as Steve's knot went down, he pulled away, probably eager to get rid of the full condom. Alpha condoms were a blessing in that Steve could actually fuck them without worrying about pregnancy with both of their overworking immune and reproductive systems, but Bucky knew from experience that it felt disgusting, stuck inside latex with all his come like that. After Steve had gotten up and thrown it away, he came back with a warm cloth and cleaned up Bucky's ass and the come splattered across their stomach. Then he carefully laid back down and put one leg across Bucky's, and his arm around Bucky's waist, and buried his face in the crook of Bucky's neck.

“I'm not going to stop you going out,” he said, his words muffled since he refused to lift his head up, “I just need to hold you for a bit. If that's okay.”

“Of course it's okay, idiot.”

“God, I love you so much. I don't wanna let go.”

“Well some of that is probably hormones, but I don't mind ya holding me, Steve.”

“Okay.”

Bucky pressed back against Steve and breathed in his scent. They found it comforting, too. And they understood that urge to poses, to mark, to _have_ that came over them when they were in rut. Not that they went into rut as often as Steve, since Steve had his quarterly rut but generally went into rut during Bucky's biannual heats, and sometimes during Bucky's ruts, too. If he hadn't been a super soldier he'd probably have to see a doctor regularly, because rut could be very draining on the body. That much adrenaline and alpha hormone racing through the body for over a week straight was exhausting, not to mention the rounds and rounds of sex that happened during a heat. Even Steve was tired after. He'd probably take a nap most of the time Bucky was gone.

Eventually, Bucky pulled away. “I gotta go get ready Steve.”

“Don't shower,” Steve said instantly, before cringing. “I mean. As long as that's okay.”

“I'm gonna wipe down a bit so I don't completely reek, but I won't shower all your scent off.”

Steve bit his lip again, and nodded. “Okay. I'm gonna take a nap. I'm tired.”

“And drink that gallon of Gatorade in the fridge,” Bucky reminded him.

“Yeah, of course.” He said, like he hadn't completely forgotten about it. (He couldn't fool Bucky.)

Bucky swung their legs over the edge of the bed and then got up and walked over to their and Steve's walk-in closet to pick out something to wear. Their wardrobe was hopeless; that was the point of today, to fill it up, so they just picked out a pair of black jeans and a dark green tank top from when they'd first come to live with Steve and Natasha had gotten them the bare beginnings of a wardrobe. They hadn't known how they'd felt about themself then, so Natasha had gotten only male clothes. Now they knew they wanted more than that; they didn't feel male all the time and they wanted some more female clothes and maybe some more gender neutral clothes, if such a thing existed for a person as male-shaped as they were.

They went into the bathroom and wiped down until they no longer reeked of Steve, but as promised, didn't shower. They'd just washed their hair last night, anyway. Bucky pulled on their clothes and applied an Old Spice deodorant that Steve really liked. They were thinking of getting something more feminine too, maybe a floral scent or something. Then they carefully applied shaving cream and shaved their face. Stubble was nice sometimes, but they wanted a nice, smooth face today. After that they brushed their hair. It was getting pretty long. They hadn't cut it after Hydra. They wanted to – make it theirs, instead. So they left it long, and it was long enough now that Bucky pulled it up into a bun and put a hair tie around it. They wanted some scrunchies and hair sticks too. In different colors maybe. And matching fingernail polish. And maybe a shoulder bag of some kind. And shoes. Bucky definitely needed shoes.

Perhaps they should take Steve's platinum card.

“Hey Steve?” Bucky called as they came back out into the bedroom.

Steve was fast asleep. Bucky shook their head and pulled the blankets up over Steve's body. Then they held their metal hand against Steve's forehead. Temperature over a hundred. Steve's rut was sending his metabolism into overdrive. Not good. They went back into the bathroom and got Steve's metabolism regulation pills, a bottle of Banner-approved painkiller and fever reducer meds, and then went out to the kitchen for the gallon of Gatorade.

“Can you wake up for me Steve? I need you to take this.”

Steve groaned in his sleep. Bucky shook him gently, and Steve rolled over. “Mmm...you back already?”

“No, I'm leaving in a minute. I need you to take these, you're running a fever.”

Steve opened his eyes, and the pupils were dilated almost all the way. Yep. He needed his meds. Bucky helped him sit up and take two pills, and then stood there and watched until he'd drank most of the gallon before helping him lay back down again.

“Honestly, I thought the serum was supposed to mean you couldn't get sick anymore.”

Steve smiled with his eyes shut. “Guess it's a good thing you're here to take care of me.”

“You're damn straight.”

“Mmm...not even a little bit.”

“Hilarious.”

Bucky went over to the nightstand and got their phone, and checked for messages. Noh-Varr was apparently downstairs waiting, not wanting to set of Steve's protective instincts by coming up. Bucky sent back a quick reply and stuck their phone in their back pocket. Then they pressed a quick kiss to Steve's forehead.

“I'm taking your credit card.”

Steve groaned again, but Bucky decided to blame it on the fever and not their spending habits. They went out to the door, scribbled a quick note telling Steve not to worry in case he woke up rut-fogged, grabbed their keys off the hook and shrugged into a soft, gray zip up hoodie and serviceable boots before heading out the door. They managed to only check the locked door twice on their way out – an accomplishment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairly short chapter this week. Focuses on gender exploration and a/b/o culture.
> 
> I don't think there's anything triggering in this chapter, though be wary of foul language and mentions of xenophobic comments/attitudes directed towards one of the characters. 
> 
> Mentions of past violence, not graphic.

Noh-Varr was waiting outside, leaning against his motorcycle and people watching. Plenty of people were watching back. Noh-Varr made a pretty striking image with his slicked back, bone white mohawk and pale skin covered in black tattoos. They looked like swirling designs – maybe Elvish, maybe Kryptonian, for the nerd-inclined. They were neither; they were Kree, apparently. Tommy had inked them on himself, following Noh-Varr's schematic drawings. Bucky had no idea what they said, but they were beautiful. Noh-Varr also had cybernetic implants under his skin, which glowed and flashed and made him look ethereal and intimidating. He only had a lip ring and his industrial in today, and a heavy ring on a chain around his neck. Tommy must have been feeling possessive today, if he was wearing that. It was a rather pretentious Maximoff signet ring, and Tommy only liked it when it was on something he owned.

“Are we buying you clothes today, too?” Bucky grinned, overstating their glance up and down Noh-Varr's body.

“You're hilarious. Kate made these, you know. I'm told they're very fashionable.”

Noh-Varr was wearing faded gray jeans that hugged him in all the right places, a ridiculously thin, blue silk shirt that was probably hand painted, and his brown suede jacket that Bucky knew for a fact he liked more than most people. There were bangles on his wrists that flashed when he moved his arms, and Bucky caught the gleam of the ankle monitor just above his boots, but only because they were looking for it.

“I thought they were taking that off.”

Noh-Varr followed their gaze and scowled. “I don't want to talk about it.”

Bucky nodded. They could understand that. “Just let me know if you want me to help. Steve is good at being indignant on the behalf of others.”

Noh-Varr's glare softened. “I'll let you know.”

It really wasn't fair that Bucky had gotten off so much easier than Noh-Varr, just because they were living with Steve. They'd been confined to a room (a cell, really) while Banner figured out what was going on with their double presentation, and they'd had to see a lot of therapists, but then they'd been released to Sam's custody, though they lived with Steve. Noh-Varr and Tommy were both repeat offenders, and Noh-Varr was literally an illegal alien, but neither of them had killed anywhere near as many people as Bucky had, and the people Noh-Varr and Tommy _had_ killed had been experimenting on them, so in Bucky's mind the scientists had gotten what was coming to them.

Bucky and Steve had killed plenty of HYDRA agents, after all, not counting all the people Bucky'd killed while they were still _working_ for HYDRA. And there was Natasha – or Natalia, they could never keep that straight – and Clint, and Thor...so many of the Avengers had taken life, yet Noh-Varr was still wearing a tracking anklet that likely fed his location directly to JARVIS. Bucky knew there'd been some kind of bad blood between Noh-Varr and Stark, but they weren't sure exactly what it was, since neither Stark nor Noh-Varr would talk about it. All Bucky knew was that Stark held grudges, and Noh-Varr's anklet was supposed to have come off last week, and clearly hadn't.

“Are we really taking your motorcycle? Where's all my shopping gonna go?”

Noh-Varr leaned into Bucky's ear and whispered, “Dimensional pocket in my saddlebags. Don't tell Stark.”

Bucky snickered. Of course there was a dimensional pocket in his saddlebags. Bucky didn't know enough about that sort of thing to know _how_ a dimensional pocket was made, but they'd heard Stark go on and on about how infuriating it was that Noh-Varr's version of the Kree had all these scientific advances that put their reality to shame, and how pissed off he was that the alien wouldn't ever share any of it. Maybe _that_ was why Noh-Varr's anklet was still on. They'd have to talk to Steve later, when he wasn't in rut.

“Here, take a helmet. Safety first.” Noh-Varr grinned, because he didn't give a shit about safety and they both knew it. He just didn't want to get pulled over. “I got the coms working so we can talk. Hop on. We'll be at Macy's in probably...ten minutes.”

“You know,” Bucky said, as they slid onto the motorcycle behind Noh-Varr, “Tommy's gonna smell me all over you. It's gonna drive him crazy.”

Noh-Varr shrugged. “He'll get over it.”

They both pulled on their helmets and Bucky pressed themself against Noh-Varr's back. They weren't nervous, but they also didn't want to fall off, and not being the driver sometimes made them feel a little self-conscious. Noh-Varr's comment was jarring, as usual. Noh-Varr's people didn't have presentations, just a male and female gender, though they seemed to be a lot more lax about it than humans were. He seemed to have a difficult time adjusting, even though he was in a relationship with an alpha male. He tended to be dismissive of gender and presentation differences, and often downplayed how the way he behaved would affect his partner. Bucky didn't know how Tommy stood it sometimes. Noh-Varr didn't like being scent marked, he didn't stay away from other alphas or omegas during Tommy's rut, and he never went into rut or heat himself.

Bucky sometimes felt that disconnect, themself, but they also had experienced heat and rut and continued to experience them, so even when they felt agender and apresentation, they still knew how things would affect others and generally tried to help reduce Steve's alpha related stress as much as possible. It seemed callous of Noh-Varr sometimes to not even care. Though – it had to be strange, coming from a place where presentation wasn't something you had to deal with at all to having it surround you and affect every part of the life you were forced into. It probably made Noh-Varr feel very _alien_ , more than anything else. And Noh-Varr didn't have scent glands, so even if he wanted to try to blend in, he couldn't. He smelled – not like _nothing_ , no one smelled of nothing, but he smelled of – absence. He smelled like shampoo and whatever hair products he used and faintly of a musky sort of body scent, but no pheromones.

“You're awfully quiet today.”

“What? Oh. I was just thinking.”

“Don't strain yourself.”

Bucky rolled their eyes, even though Noh-Varr couldn't see it. “Yes, you are _very_ funny. You've mastered enough English to achieve wit.”

“My English is excellent.”

“Mmm. Your Russian needs work though.” And Noh-Varr had a lingering accent he couldn't get rid of, but Bucky didn't bring it up. It was a bit of a sore spot and he tended to swing between getting angry he couldn't stop, and deciding that he hated humans and speaking only in Kree for the rest of the day. Bucky didn't want to ruin their day out. Contrary to what Stark tended to say, they _had_ learned tact.

“Well your Kree is _awful_.” Noh-Varr grumbled.

“ _J'vekx._ ”

“Ugh. Terrible. My ears are bleeding.”

“Ha. Ha. Are we there yet?”

“Yes, actually.” The bike slowed, and Noh-Varr pulled into a parking structure, pausing just long enough to take a ticket. It didn't take too long to find a parking spot since they could take a motorcycle space, and then they both dismounted the bike and pulled off their helmets.

Noh-Var shook out his hair and then smoothed it back into place across his head. Bucky had to take their hair out of the bun they'd put it in and gather it back up again in order to smooth away the mess the ride had created. They handed their helmet to Noh-Varr, who put both helmets into a saddlebag that looked like it shouldn't fit one helmet, much less two. Noh-Varr caressed the bike near the handles and said,

“PLEX, set bike lock to stun. Security level 2.”

“Level 2 secure, Noh-Varr. Camouflage protocols initiated.”

“Good. Stay safe, PLEX.”

“You as well.”

Then Noh-Varr straightened and walked away like nothing had happened. Bucky stepped a little quickly to catch up. “You put PLEX in your bike?”

“Well, I'm not allowed to have PLEX installed in my house.”

“I'm pretty sure the point was they don't want nir installed at all.” Then they paused, and said, “Is nir still the correct pronoun?”

Noh-Varr shrugged. “PLEX seems to like it. But then, ne doesn't really think about pronouns the way you do.”

Bucky followed him up the street as they walked the few blocks from the parking lot to Macy's. “Yeah, I know. Ne's a program. But. JARVIS seems very comfortable with being a 'he' and I don't like to assume, you know? With – everything. Speaking of which, have you thought about pronouns yourself?”

At first, it'd been really awkward talking about pronouns like there was a _choice,_ because it was so alien to everything they'd ever known. Now, it was probably still awkward for people around them who'd grown up with a gender binary and were attempting to adjust to using neutral pronouns for them. But they'd lost so much of their memory, they sort of learned pronouns along with everything else, and it was almost as comfortable to use alternate pronouns as the “normal” he or she. Bucky still had moments of stilted awkwardness, but that mostly stemmed from not being able to gauge how other people felt about it, which honestly was something they struggled with for more things than pronoun usage.

“I don't know. I don't really – care one way or another? Not like PLEX. I think ne feels ne needs to separate nemself from human gender. Not that ne pronouns can't be used for humans, but it's sufficiently different from the gender binary that ne feels more comfortable, I guess. And you wouldn't be able to pronounce nirs actual pronouns anyways. For me – well. I wouldn't mind if someone used neutral pronouns for me, but I have little preference one way or another. Tommy considers me very masculine – he likes that about me, and I don't mind it. All human pronouns are equally foreign to me.”

“Yeah. I can get that. Well. Let me know if you ever decide you want something else. I think I looked through every pronoun people have ever used when I was going through therapy.”

Noh-Varr grinned. “Maybe sometime I'll teach you how to properly refer to me in Kree.”

“I doubt it'll ever live up to your _exacting_ standards, but yeah, ok.”

Then Bucky had to stop, and look up at the Macy's. They weren't expecting it to jar their memory so violently. This building had been there – before. They _knew_ this building. They'd come here with Steve, gotten ice cream, bought lipstick they'd said was for their ma but they actually kept in a tin under their bed and only put on at night after everyone had gone to bed. They'd bought (and sometimes stole) medicine for Steve here.

“You okay?”

Bucky shook their head sharply, and pulled themself out of the flashbacks. “Yes. Just – remembering.”

“This was here in the forty's?”

“Oh yeah. Way before that. I rode escalators here with Steve when we were little.”

“Huh.” Was all Noh-Varr said, he didn't push. Then, “You need a moment before we go in? There's a coffee shop a block over. Well, I'm pretty sure there's one inside, too, but we could get something before that.”

“Yeah. Let's get a coffee and then -” Then they'd go in, and go shopping, just like a normal being. They could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: A kind person mentioned that many people may not know what non-binary even means. Honestly, Googling it might produce a more comprehensive explanation, but basically a non-binary person, like Bucky, is a transgender individual who does not identify with either male or female gender, preferring to identify differently. Since this is ABO, Bucky doesn't identify as omega or alpha, though they feel more comfortable as omega than otherwise. Bucky prefers the neutral pronoun singular they, which is conjugated as they, them, their, theirs, themself. Again, Google is your friend for more information.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may as well be called "Bucky and Noh-Varr's Magical Shopping Adventure." I love this chapter.
> 
> There are breif mentions of Noh-Varr being in a polyamorous relationship including Kate. It's not tagged because it is so very minor. There are also small mentions of gender issues Bucky has to deal with.
> 
> Also changed final chapter count to 5, because I can't count, haha. But that means an extra chapter for you, yay! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Bucky walked into the first floor of the Macy's, did very well at _not_ flinching when the greeting staff handed them a visitor's guide and pointed out the coat check, and said, “This is going to take all day.”

Noh-Varr opened his visitor's guide and browsed it. “Well,” he said, “some of this stuff you don't need, like all the home decorating stuff. Steve likes to do that anyway. And you don't need to worry about cosmetics – Tommy demands we go to MAC with him.”

Bucky snorts. “He's just worried he'll get hit on without us.”

“Oh no, he likes that part, he's very smug. He mostly get annoyed when they assume he's buying makeup for his omega girlfriend.”

They handed their coats to the coat check people, though they both had to discreetly pull weapons out of the coats first, and headed towards the elevators. Bucky had been told by more than one person that it was best to start at the top floor and work down, as the top floors tended to get congested later in the day. They got on the elevator together, and were the only ones in it.

“Really? This is New York.”

Noh-Varr shrugged. “Humans have difficulty moving beyond the gender binary. They're getting better at it...but people still tend to assume alphas are with omegas, males with females, and so on. Unless of course, a gay couple, or two betas together happens to be more interesting or scandalous, and then that's obviously what they believe to be true.”

The elevator dinged and they stepped out onto a floor that was – intimidating, to say the least. Bucky wasn't sure an unenhanced human could actually see the end of it. “You don't have a very high opinion of humans, do you.”

Noh-Varr just gave them a look, and said, “It says there are wigs over here. You want a wig?”

At first Bucky started to say no, but then decided that being able to change their hair color when they wanted to go out might be nice. Noh-Varr helped, and they ended up picking out a blonde one, and a black one with braids worked into it. Looking at the guide told them there wasn't anything else they needed on this floor, but Bucky wanted to stop at the next floor to look at bridal dresses. They might not ever wear one, but they wanted to look.

This time they took an escalator from the ninth to the eighth floor. The escalator was wooden, and looked – familiar. “Wow. Steve and I used to ride these. I can't believe they're still here.”

Noh-Varr flipped the visitor's guide over. “It says that some of the escalators are the original ones. The ones on the lower floors have been mostly replaced, though.”

“Originals?” Bucky spent the rest of the ride down staring intently into the wood grain. They might have actually ridden this exact escalator seventy years ago. They couldn't remember if they'd ever ridden it up this high, but just _knowing_ that they and Steve's hands might have held this railing – they'd have to tell Steve later.

Bridal dresses were pretty much the most amazing thing ever. Bucky didn't remember if their sisters had gotten married when they were there to see it, but their family certainly couldn't have afforded anything like this. The dresses had trains, and layers and layers, and some had lace, and some were made of silk, and some had brocade and sparkled like diamonds. They were _beautiful_. Bucky didn't try any on, didn't know if they should, or if they even wanted to, but they spent some time looking.

When Bucky looked at a particular one for a very, very long time, Noh-Varr looked Bucky over, pulled a specific one down off the rack, and took it over to the lady behind the counter. Bucky wandered over behind him, amused as Noh-Varr paid for the thing with what looked suspiciously like Kate's black platinum credit card. The lady (who's name badge said her name was Yasmin) took the dress and carefully folded and boxed it, and took down Steve's address for shipping when Noh-Varr gave it to her.

Noh-Varr took his receipt, and headed toward the escalators. Bucky followed, saying, “You know I'll probably never wear that.”

“But you might. And you like it. You know – if you wanted to get married in it, Steve probably wouldn't mind.”

“You really think so?”

“I think that Steve would do anything to make you happy.”

“Well. It's beautiful.”

Noh-Varr just nodded, like there was nothing wrong with Bucky wanting to wear a gown at their wedding. Of course, to Noh-Varr there probably wasn't. This was one of the reasons Bucky liked hanging out with Noh-Varr; he was generally better about breaking gender norms than Bucky was, even though they were trying to embrace that part of themself. Noh-Varr made the things they wanted seem – good. Normal. And Bucky found that they needed that, sometimes. Well, probably a lot, but having someone to talk to was really good.

Next was floor seven, and women's coats. Bucky wanted to be able to look nice and stay warm regardless of what they wanted to present as, and Noh-Varr helped them pick out a coat that was soft black wool and went down past their hips. Noh-Varr picked out a green and gray striped scarf for himself, and a blue and brown one for Bucky. Bucky didn't usually like things around their throat, but it was very soft.

After their purchases were wrapped and sent downstairs to the package pick-up, they headed to the next floor for lingerie. Bucky was worried at first that it would be awkward, but Noh-Varr seemed completely comfortable. It was a _little_ awkward for Bucky when Noh-Varr went over to the garters and said,

“Oh, Tommy bought me these. He says they make my legs look nice.”

But Bucky was able to put aside their feelings and shop, and between the two of them, they purchased a veritable treasure trove of underwear. Steve would undoubtedly be pleased with some of their choices. Bucky was particularly excited about the brilliant pink lace underwear made specifically for alphas – it actually had _room_ for everything, and Bucky planned on wearing it during their next rut. Steve wouldn't know what to do, it would be amazing.

Women's shoes were next, and Bucky went a little crazy. They _loved_ shoes. High heels, spike heels, straps, chunky style, sandals, sneakers, tennis shoes, flats. They didn't know exactly what they'd need since they hadn't hit up women's clothing yet, but they solved that problem by buying ten pairs of shoes they liked in various colors and styles. Chances were they'd go with _something_. Noh-Varr seemed to enjoy himself, and kept bringing over more shoes for Bucky to try. He didn't buy anything, but he didn't seem to care. The checkout clerk seemed amused at the sheer amount of shoes Bucky was purchasing, and when Bucky saw the total, they were glad they'd brought Steve's card. Hopefully he wouldn't be too upset.

It was a bit difficult to carry around ten pairs of shoes, but Bucky was determined not to ship the shoes until they'd had a chance to look at the dresses. They were in luck though, because the dresses were on the very next floor. They'd been a little worried about trying on dresses in a large department store, but it was still relatively early, and the sales woman seemed positively delighted to help Bucky pick out something that worked for them. They got a light blue sun dress, several full length skirts; one with pleated layers, and another that was slim, silky and slinky, and a more formal evening gown that Bucky would need to wear their breastforms with, but it was red and sexy and they _wanted_ it. A flash of memory; Steve's gaze as he took in Agent Carter in her dress – yes, they had to have it.

After that they had the dresses, shoes, wig and lingerie sent downstairs, and Noh-Varr demanded that they get something to eat. Bucky went along easily, since they got hungry every few hours. There was a pretzel stand right there on the fourth floor, and Noh-Varr got a little of everything, since he'd not had pretzels from this particular stand before, and wanted to try all their sauces. Bucky stuck to the regular soft pretzel dipped in mustard – it was classic, and there was no convincing them otherwise. They enjoyed watching people watch Noh-Varr mix cheese, mustard, and chocolate sauce together on his pretzel, though.

“Good?” Bucky laughed, when Noh-Varr stuffed an entire pretzel in his mouth.

“Mmm. Too many preservatives though. I'm going to have gas later.”

Bucky snorted. “Good thing I'm not going to be sleeping next to you.”

Noh-Varr made a face. “Tommy will probably exile me to the couch. It's not my fault that humans put so many inorganic chemicals in their food.”

“Some of it tastes good, though.”

“And a lot of it is disgusting. Honestly, how can people not taste it?”

“They grow up with it, I suppose. Steve said it took him years to get used to how different the food tastes. It doesn't bother me as much.”

Noh-Varr picked up their trash, and looked like he was seriously considering eating the napkins, before shaking his head and throwing everything away. “Wasteful,” he muttered under his breath, before asking, “Where to now?”

“Looks like men's dress clothes are down on floor three. There's a men's designer section, but I don't think I'm up for that. Maybe we should come back with Kate or Natasha for that section.”

“Or Tommy. He has _opinions_ about designer clothes. I think he's been spending too much time as Kate's plus one.”

“How does that work anyway? If you don't mind me asking.” Bucky said as they headed down to the third floor.

Noh-Varr shrugged. “It's not that complicated. Tommy is mine; he comes home to me at night. But he stays at Kate's sometimes, and sometimes I do, too. If Kate needs a date and doesn't feel like appearing available, she'll take Tommy along. He seems to enjoy being 'arm candy.'”

They flipped through racks of men's clothes, which were less exciting than the dresses, but Bucky found a few dress shirts that caught their fancy; a deep blue one that matched their eyes, and a crisp white shirt with black buttons and detailing. Noh-Varr picked out a suit jacket and pants to match, and Bucky was pleased with the sharp figure they cut. They'd have to get the clothes tailored to them, later. Kate would insist.

Noh-Varr attempted to explain his relationship again as they headed down to the second floor and settled into salon chairs to get a manicure. Bucky was unsure at first about letting someone else handle their flesh hand, but Noh-Varr was relaxed, and the man doing the manicure took it in stride when Bucky indicated they only wanted a manicure on their right hand.

“He says he doesn't like being a 'kept man,' but he seems to really enjoy it when Kate buys him things, or when I buy him things with her money. Mostly I just try to keep them both happy. If they're happy, I'm happy.”

“It sounds hard,” Bucky mused, thinking about how much more difficult their relationship would be if they had a third person involved. Just anticipating Steve's needs was difficult enough. Though...if Agent Carter had still been a young woman, and was interested in the both of them...Bucky could see, perhaps, how someone might want something like that, even if it wasn't exactly for them.

“Mostly it involves a lot of talking.” Noh-Varr said, “and I am good at that. Tommy is less so. He prefers to speak with his hands. Green polish, please.” Noh-Varr said to the manicurist, as if he hadn't just been talking about negotiating his polyamorous relationship.

“French manicure for me, please.” Bucky said. That should be neutral enough to go with whatever they decided to wear for the next few weeks. If they felt particularly masculine, they could always wear a glove to match their metal arm.

After the manicure, which Bucky insisted on paying for, they headed to women's active wear, and Bucky got a few more casual shirts – a cute bandana style v-neck, loose enough to help exaggerate their hips, in both blue and red, a more reserved brown three quarter sleeved shirt, a pleated yellow button up, and two tunics, one red, the other chocolate heather. Noh-Varr got a white belted tunic for Tommy, and picked out a loud green belt to go with it, since those were Tommy's favorite colors.

They were finally getting somewhere; they'd made it to floor one and a half, where the designer jeans were. This Bucky knew how to shop for, and they spent nearly an hour trying on different cuts and styles. They bought – a lot of jeans, from DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein – Steve was going to have a fit when he saw his credit card statement. Bucky had a pension check coming soon, so that'd cover it. Probably.

Their favorite were the Guess jeans. They'd gotten several – men's skinny jeans, a sexy pair of white slim straight, a pair of dark boot-cut, and several women's styles as well. The sales woman was more than happy to help them find something that would look good on them, though they'd have to get some alterations done. They just didn't have female hips, but apparently tailoring and the right clothes would go a long way.

Noh-Varr got a pair of super slim fit Tommy Hilfiger jeans for Tommy, smiling to himself at the name. By the time they'd left, he'd have an entire outfit for his boyfriend. Which was probably the point. He also let Bucky talk him into buying a pair of Guess jeans for himself. Noh-Varr had several bags on his arm at this point, since he'd been keeping out everything he was getting for Tommy.

The ground floor contained many things that Bucky wanted; jewelery, hand bags, women's socks and tights, men's ties, and fragrances. Noh-Varr had an impeccable memory, and helped Bucky pick out a few hand bags and a men's shoulder bag that would match what they'd already gotten, socks, two pairs of tights and a pair of striped leggings, and several silk ties, including one for Steve. Jewelery took a bit longer, but Noh-Varr convinced them to do their ear piercing at the tattoo shop where Tommy worked, so they only picked out a few necklaces and some bangles, and a simple silver chain, which they wore immediately. Noh-Varr got a silver ring for Tommy, and a thin bracelet with an emerald in it.

Fragrances were an entirely different battle. Bucky actually met some resistance here from the sales person, when they wanted both Alpha and Omega scents, both feminine and masculine. Eventually Noh-Varr took over, and even though he sneezed and muttered under his breath the entire time, he had an excellent nose, and helped Bucky decide on some light fragrances that they actually liked. At the checkout, Bucky saw Noh-Varr slip in some Alpha cologne and a tiny bottle of Omega pheromones, for those with trouble scenting. So perhaps Noh-Varr wasn't as ignorant to Tommy's needs as they'd originally thought.

By the time they'd finished up with that, it was past lunch. There was both a restaurant and a candy store in the basement, so they had lunch at the bar and grill. Noh-Varr seemed much more pleased with his steak than he'd been about the preservative filled pretzels, and Bucky enjoyed their burger. They hit up the candy store after that, and bought some of everything. There were so many new candies that Bucky had never tried, and both Noh-Varr and Tommy had notorious sweet tooth's, so they made sure to get enough for everyone.

Their last stop was men's basics where Bucky was able to get men's socks and underwear, including some rather – alluring – men's underwear from Calvin Klein. Bucky pretended they didn't see what Noh-Varr bought Tommy in that section. They also got some basic shirts, a few long-sleeved ones, two warm Henley's, several hoodies, and a men's winter coat.

By that time, Bucky was actually sick of shopping. They stopped by the coat check to pick up their jackets and all their packages, which they managed to get between the two of them, and staggered out the door. Bucky was glad they had a cybernetic arm for all their stuff – they felt like a walking shopping rack on the way back to the motorcycle.

“PLEX, deactivate security system.”

“Voice recognition confirmed. Hello, Noh-Varr.”

“Hey PLEX. We're going to put our shopping away. Is the perimeter secure?”

PLEX hummed, and a green light shot out and flashed over the parking garage. “Perimeter secure.”

“Excellent.” Noh-Varr opened his saddle bags, and put all his shopping in one side, and then motioned for Bucky to hand him theirs. The bags looked like they wouldn't fit, but they did, every time. It was a little disturbing.

“That seems useful.”

Noh-Varr grinned. “It is. Come on, we're heading to the shop now. Tommy wants to go to MAC with us.”

“Ugh.”

“Tired of shopping? You'll like the make up, I promise.”

“Yes, alright.” Bucky climbed onto the motorcycle behind Noh-Varr. “Take me away, space man.”

Noh-Varr kicked the bike to life, and laughed into the wind as they whipped away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is self-beta'd, so if you spot any errors let me know!
> 
> Edit: A kind person mentioned that many people may not know what non-binary even means. Honestly, Googling it might produce a more comprehensive explanation, but basically a non-binary person, like Bucky, is a transgender individual who does not identify with either male or female gender, preferring to identify differently. Since this is ABO, Bucky doesn't identify as omega or alpha, though they feel more comfortable as omega than otherwise. Bucky prefers the neutral pronoun singular they, which is conjugated as they, them, their, theirs, themself. Again, Google is your friend for more information.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we've reached the part of the fic where most of the other characters come into play. Yay! This part is at least a little inspired by Ardatli's "The Colors Beneath His Skin." You'll see what I mean. (Except the Nohmmy, she doesn't write that.)
> 
> This chapter also has a lot of gender challenges; ie, Bucky and co deal with people being dicks. So watch out for slurs and phobic language if that triggers you.
> 
> Also, Wicked & Divine homage in here, look for that.
> 
> Edit: A kind person mentioned that many people may not know what non-binary even means. Honestly, Googling it might produce a more comprehensive explanation, but basically a non-binary person, like Bucky, is a transgender individual who does not identify with either male or female gender, preferring to identify differently. Since this is ABO, Bucky doesn't identify as omega or alpha, though they feel more comfortable as omega than otherwise. Bucky prefers the neutral pronoun singular they, which is conjugated as they, them, their, theirs, themself. Again, Google is your friend for more information.

The tattoo and hair salon that Tommy worked at was right in the heart of the Village. It was owned by Tommy's twin brother Billy, and his partner Teddy, who was apparently half-Skrull and half-Kree. Even though Skrull and Kree were mortal enemies, Noh-Varr was strangely protective of Teddy, and considered him family. Most, if not all, of Noh-Varr's friends who weren't Bucky worked at the shop, which was owned, managed and staffed by mutants and aliens of all different backgrounds and sexualities. Bucky had heard about it many times from Noh-Varr, but they'd never actually been there until now.

The shop was a riot of color, with various flags fluttering proudly above the door. Bucky recognized the rainbow flag, but also the asexual, pansexual, bisexual, transgender, mutant, and alternate presentation flags, along with a few others that they weren't sure about, but might have represented the non-humans who worked and lived there. There were tattoos on the windows, appearing as if traced by an invisible hand, and slowly dissolving to show the next design, along with a friendly, multicolored 'open' sign printed in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Kree, and a few other languages Bucky didn't recognize.

Noh-Varr roared up and parked right in front. He and Bucky climbed off, and Noh-Varr ran his hand across the handlebars. The bike shivered a little bit and a green light flashed softly, but PLEX didn't say anything. It was probably for the best, considering how many people were around.

They were greeted at the door by an adorable teenager with a brightly colored head wrap and a tiny nose ring, and stylized lightning bolts tattooed across the backs of her hands. “Hi Noh-Varr!! Who's your friend??”

“Hey Kamala. This is Bucky. Please use 'they' pronouns.”

Kamala's eyes got very large, and she whispered, almost reverently, “Are you _Bucky Barnes?_ I am like – the _hugest_ fan!! Can I hug you?”

“Um.” Bucky didn't usually like to be hugged, or touched by people that weren't Steve but – Kamala was very friendly. She practicallyexhuded friendliness. “Sure.”

“Yay!” She lept up out of her seat and then _stretched_ , her legs growing impossibly long and huge as she hopped over the table, before shrinking down to normal teenage size and wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek against his chest with the largest grin he'd seen on anyone since Steve was small. Bucky found themself smiling, too.

“Kamala, let the customers _into_ the store.” That was Billy, who Bucky had met before, calling across the store from where he was currently curling a blue mutant's mass of tentacle hair.

“Sorry Billy!!” Kamala let them go, still smiling.

“We're just here to pick up Tommy, Billy.” Noh-Varr informed him.

“What, no tattoo?” Teddy asked from the doorway, following behind a customer with a wrapped arm. “I just finished up, I have some free time. Hey Kamala, can you cash this guy out?”

“Of course! It was nice meeting you, Bucky!” Kamala _stretched_ back across to the desk, and started ringing the customer up.

Bucky followed Noh-Varr further into the store, so they were less in the way, and secured a seat between a decorative coffee table and a potted plant. The shop wasn't packed, but there was a bronze-skinned woman with a star tattooed across the bridge of her nose and several piercings chatting away in Spanish with a customer on whom she was tattooing an extensive design on the tattoo side of the shop, and another woman doing hair next to Billy. Everyone there had very large personalities and it was enough to make them feel a little claustrophobic.

There was the faintest blur across the shop, and then Noh-Varr was being french kissed by Tommy right there in front of everyone. Tommy was a lithe mutant who also had a shock of white hair, with lightning bolts shaved into the sides, and piercings in just about every place he _could_ have piercings in. Dozens of tattoos were in various stages of fading across his skin – apparently his powers kept him from being able to hold a design. He was wearing a battered pair of jeans and a faded Dragonforce shirt, with a black apron on, and loud red Converse shoes. Everything about Tommy was very loud and in-your-face. He had absolutely no problem with scent marking Noh-Varr right there in front of everyone, and Noh-Varr let him, even though he was probably a great deal stronger than his boyfriend.

“Hey Bucky. I'm just gonna borrow him for a minute and then we'll go, yeah?”

“...sure.”

Tommy grinned and pulled Noh-Varr towards the back.

“Not in the storage closet!!” Billy yelled after them, but it didn't look like Tommy was listening. Billy muttered under his breath and made a hand gesture, and then Bucky couldn't hear either of them any more.

No matter how many times they saw Billy or Wanda do it, Bucky just wasn't used to seeing magic. It was – beyond anything they'd experienced before, and Billy was just so casual about it. Wanda had never seemed comfortable with her abilities, but Billy embraced his powers. Even though it made them uncomfortable, there was something nice about a space that was considered safe enough that a young mutant could just use their powers, or openly get themselves styled or tattooed without judgment. That Bucky could get behind.

“Uh, so, they're gonna be a little while. Did you want to get anything? On the house, of course.” Teddy smiled at them, and sat down, leaving a space between himself and Bucky.

Teddy was also very soothing to be around. He didn't have a gender presentation either, being an alien. He smelled very pleasant, and apparently could simulate human pheromones if he wanted to, but usually didn't choose to. Teddy was huge – he had a bulk on par with Thor, normally pale skin that darkened to deep green when he was angry, and covered in thick tribal tattoos. He had at least six hoops in each of his ears, and a thick, short haircut that shifted colors every ten minutes or so.

By contrast, Billy was tiny. He was half an inch shorter than Tommy, dark where Tommy was light, with an adorable pixie cut, gauges in his ears and a fascination with leather. He was also Teddy's alpha, though he didn't fit any stereotype of alpha in mainstream media. He wasn't even loud like Tommy – he was quiet and sweet, and sometimes seemed sad. He reminded Bucky a lot of Steve, actually, from what they could remember about their childhood, which admittedly wasn't much.

Bucky hadn't spent that much time with him, but they knew that both Teddy and Billy had problems in public, where people consistently assumed that Teddy was the alpha in the relationship, because he was so much larger than Billy was. It was one of the few things that seemed to genuinely upset the young man. He was extremely proud of his husband, and openly talked about it to practically anyone.

“I did want to get my tongue pierced, actually. And my ears. And maybe – something with my hair? If – you have time, that is.”

“Sure. We can do that. You have an advanced healing factor, right?”

“Yes. I heal a little faster than Noh-Varr, but not as fast as Tommy.”

“Okay, cool. Come pick out some jewelery, and I'll do the piercing. Billy should be about done by then, and he'll do your hair.”

Teddy was very patient, and waited while Bucky looked through all the potential earrings. They ended up picking a dark surgical steel bar for the tongue piercing, and a set of silver studs for their ears. They also picked out a variety of earrings to wear in their piercings after they were healed, including several intricate hand-made earrings carved from wood and bone.

Bucky hadn't shared very much of their back story with any of Noh-Varr's friends, but Teddy knew enough to know that anything that even remotely resembled a surgical setting made Bucky very nervous. They ended up sitting at a bar stool at the counter while Teddy chatted in his soothing, rumbling voice and put their piercings in with a practiced ease. It didn't hurt at all; they had a high pain tolerance, and it wasn't the first time they'd had a needle stuck through them, though it was the first time they'd done it on purpose. If Steve liked the jewelery, Bucky already had half formed ideas about more extreme piercings. He could ask Tommy about it – he'd probably already gotten the piercing done.

Billy was enthusiastic about doing Bucky's hair. “I don't need to cut it or anything; I know you don't like being touched, and I doubt you want to go home smelling like another alpha. But if you just stand in front of the mirror there, and think about what you want – well. Just try it out. It's pretty cool, promise.”

“Okay.”

Bucky stood in front of said mirror and thought about the different types of hair they might want. The first thing that came to mind was their old haircut, back in the forty's. The mirror rippled, and then their reflection changed, to show the hair cut they'd just been thinking about. Bucky startled, and their hands flew up to their hair, which was still pulled back in a bun. They turned around and looked at Billy, who winked at them, and made a hand gesture that sent blue sparks in the air. Magic. Bucky would never get used to it.

They stood there and thought hard, and tried all different combinations of color and style, pulling from magazines they'd seen and ads they'd watched, pulling from decades and decades of exposure to different cultures and styles. Finally they found something that was exactly what they wanted. It was short on the sides – less than an inch long and bone white. The top and back were longer, bangs in the front left that went from white to yellow to bright orange-red, and the back long enough to go up in the same bun they had right now, also going out to a brilliant orange at the tips. It was edgy – it was fierce. As a man it made them look punk, but it was soft enough to help them pass if they were feeling feminine. It was perfect.

“This one. Yeah. I like that.”

Billy came over and studied the mirror. He bit his lip and then nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. You're sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. 1-2-3-4,” he snapped.

Bucky felt something wash over them; a fiery, electric tang, and then their hair was longer in the front, bangs hanging down past their eyes, and bright, orange-red. Holy shit. They brought their hands up, and their hair was short on the sides, and longer in the back than it had been before, but still done up in the bun they'd had it in before.

“And done.”

“Hey, that looks fucking awesome!” Tommy called from behind them.

He and Noh-Varr were finally stumbling out of the storage closet, looking like they'd been doing exactly what they'd been doing. Tommy was practically oozing satisfaction, while Noh-Varr just looked like he'd been thoroughly fucked. He practically reeked of Tommy, so apparently the other alpha was feeling a little possessive. Which didn't really surprise Bucky. They didn't smell strongly of alpha, but they still had alpha scent glands along with their omega ones, and they _did_ smell of Steve in rut. Apparently Steve's pheromones tended to make other alpha's feel self-conscious a lot.

“I swear to gods, if you guys made a mess in there -”

“Chill, Billy. We cleaned up.”

Billy looked towards the ceiling as if he was seeking divine guidance. “Nice seeing you, Bucky. Say hi to Steve for me. I'm going to go sanitize our supply closet.”

Tommy snickered as Billy stalked off towards the closet, grumbling, with blue sparks flying around him.

“Seriously though, your hair looks awesome. And you got your ears done, too.”

“And my tongue.”

“Nice. It's not even swelling at all. Though based on your healing factor that'll probably happen in what...couple of hours? But then, it should be practically healed by tomorrow. Here though, you should take this stuff home. Just in case.”

Tommy buzzed around the shop and re-appeared with a small white bag with after care instructions in it, some sea salt, and an alcohol free mouthwash. “You'll have to come in in a couple of days and get that swapped out for a shorter barbell. With your healing factor Teddy could have used a short one, but I see he went the safe route. Makes sense. I didn't, but mine healed completely in less than a day and I knew what I was getting into. Anyways, ready to go?”

Bucky just nodded. Tommy talked a lot.

“Are you...how are you coming with us?”

Tommy just grinned. “I'll meet you guys there.” He gave Noh-Varr a quick kiss, and then was just – gone.

Noh-Varr was just smiling stupidly at the space where Tommy had just been. “He's so awesome.”

“I'm glad he makes you happy.” Bucky said sincerely. They were – ready to go home. They missed Steve.

Something must have shown on their face, because Noh-Varr said, “Let's go to MAC, and then I'll take you home.”

“Okay.”

xxx

MAC was potentially more intimidating than Macy's. It wasn't anywhere near as large as Macy's – it was only a store on the street, a single level. But it was packed floor to ceiling with cosmetics, with products that Bucky had only ever _dreamed_ about before, products that they hadn't even known existed. And there were almost entirely all women in the store, which immediately put Bucky on edge. Not because there was anything wrong with women, but because they were worried that they'd face problems here. Being an omega and non-binary was – difficult, sometimes. Bucky found themself stepping slightly behind Noh-Varr as the stepped into the store, and when Tommy appeared beside them, they startled badly.

“Woah, sorry. Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Bucky bit out. “I just. Women don't know what to do with – me. A lot of the time.”

Tommy's mouth curved down. “Yeah. I get that a lot, too. I couldn't be shopping for make-up for myself, right? Alpha like me couldn't want that – I must be shopping for my omega girlfriend.”

Noh-Varr made a rude noise. “I'd look terrible in a dress.”

Bucky chose to take the comment as it was meant, and not a jab at their presentation. “You really would.”

“You could really rock some leggings, though. I mean that _uniform_ you used to have was practically -”

“Can I help you?” A saleswoman asked them, interrupting Tommy, who's mouth snapped shut into a displeased line. She was older; middle aged, Caucasian, either an omega herself or wearing _way_ too much omega pheromone. She was, unfortunately, the kind of woman Bucky had the most trouble with.

But that didn't mean anything. Perhaps this woman would be different. Bucky had been surprised in the past by all sorts of people. They tried very hard not to judge, as much as they could, anyway. But there was just something about the woman that rubbed them the wrong way.

And there was a reason Bucky disliked this type of woman. “We have some _excellent_ omega perfumes, gentleman. Something pretty and pink for your girlfriend? Or perhaps something for yourself?” She smiled too sweetly at Tommy.

“I'm an alpha,” Tommy said flatly. “And I'm gay.”

For a moment, it looked like the situation might be salvaged, as the woman made a face that looked like she'd bitten into a rather rotten lemon. Then, instead of leaving, she made it worse by turning to Noh-Varr, who admittedly looked the most masculine of the three of them and said,

“Honestly, do you _let_ your omega talk to people that way?”

Bucky reached out and grabbed Noh-Varr's arms, before he could strangle her. As it was he bared his teeth and straight _snarled_ at her. “Thomas is _my_ alpha, and I don't _let_ him do anything you stupid -”

“Brita! I'm back. You can take your lunch now.” They were interrupted by a tiny woman wearing mostly black, with a shock of blue hair curling down in front of her wire-rimmed glasses and _violently_ purple lipstick _._

“But-”

“Right now.”

Brita bit her lip savagely, snuck a not so subtle glance at Noh-Varr, who was actually shaking with anger at this point, and took the exit provided to her, practically bolting out of the store, already on her phone. Hopefully she wasn't calling the police.

The new woman looked more than a little intimidated, herself, but she visually gathered her composure, touching the silver pentagram around her neck briefly before saying, “I really don't think an 'I'm sorry' is going to cut it but – I am so sorry.”

“We would like to speak to – the manager.” Noh-Varr bit out, shaking Bucky off him. Bucky let go only because they were fairly certain that Noh-Varr wouldn't strangle an innocent party.

“Um. That – was the manager.”

Tommy's eyebrows flew up. “Seriously?”

“Ah. Yeah. I'm probably going to get fired for stepping in but I couldn't let her say that to you.”

“You're not going to get fired.” Tommy said firmly. “If they _try_ to fire you, please, give me a call.” He produced his card out of seemingly thin air and handed it to her.

“You're a mutant rights lawyer. Goddess.” She breathed, reading the card. “You're like, a hero. I'm. Can I – help you with anything?”

The tension in the store slowly dissipated as Noh-Varr took a deep breath in through his nose, before blowing it out. He finally looked like he wasn't about to maim someone. Bucky was the one who finally spoke.

“Um. I'm non-binary and I – I wanted to get some makeup that I could wear if I was feeling. Feminine?”

“And I wanted nail polish and lipstick. Because they look _good_ on me.” Tommy said, still upset.

At this, the saleswoman seemed to recover. “Of course. Contrary to some old fashioned opinions, men look excellent in make-up as well. And you have _great_ cheekbones. I'm Reya.”

“Tommy,” Tommy said, then pointed to Noh-Varr, “Noh-Varr, my boyfriend, and my friend James.”

Bucky didn't bother correct him. It was for the best that they didn't use 'Bucky' here. The last thing they needed on top of everything was for them to get recognized. They just wanted to get some makeup and then go home to Steve. And maybe never go outside ever again.

“It's good to meet you. Though I wish our introduction had been more pleasant. James, you said you'd like something for when you're feeling feminine? I know just the thing, if you'd like help? My sister is transgender, and we experimented a lot with makeup to help sculpt her face shape. You can do a lot with just a little practice. If that's something you're interested in?”

Bucky looked cautiously at Noh-Varr and Tommy. When they didn't discourage them, Bucky nodded carefully. “Yes. I'd like that.”

“Do you also need help, Tommy?”

“No, I've been here before. I know what I want. Thank you though. Do you want us to come with you, James?”

Bucky deliberated, before deciding having Noh-Varr and Tommy follow them around just to make them more comfortable would actually just make everything worse. “No, I'll be okay. I'll meet you at the checkout?”

“Sure.” Tommy gave them a friendly squeeze on the way by, and then he and Noh-Varr headed towards an aisle on the left side of the store.

Reya was very friendly. She helped them get everything they could possibly need; lipstick in several colors, primer, lip crème, gloss, brushes, liner, several eye palette sets, face makeup sets with blush, foundation, and highlights, and she showed them how to apply the makeup to make their face look more feminine, and what sorts of makeup they could wear on their masculine days if they wanted. She helped them pick a nice bag to put everything in, and a home manicure kit, along with a base coat, several complimentary colors of nail polish, and a quick dry top coat. She also gave Tommy and Bucky her employee discount on the supplies, which was good because the total was rather nauseating. 

Reya wrote down the numbers for the store manager and the district manager for Tommy, who promised he'd follow up and resolve the situation, and again reassured her not to worry about losing her job. He even waved good bye when they left.

Noh-Varr did not relax completely until they were back out at his bike. His face was unhappy as he said, “I am sorry that this trip was so – unpleasant.”

“It's not your fault, babe.”

“I know.” He said, “but humans are so,” he ground his teeth together. “I don't _like_ them. Sorry.” 

That was to Bucky, who shrugged. “I haven't exactly had the best interactions with humans either. But Reya seemed okay.”

“She was a mutant, couldn't you tell?”

“Ooh. That makes sense.” Tommy said.

“How did you know?” Bucky asked, curious.

“I can smell it. She smelled of ozone, like Billy.”

“Huh. Well, she might just be a witch you know. Not all witches are mutants. Some are just – witches.” Tommy informed him.

Noh-Varr frowned. “There is a difference?”

“Don't ask me,” Bucky said, “I don't understand magic.”

“Are you taking Bucky home, babe? I need to call and bitch out some people, and then we're having dinner with Kate.”

“Would you like to go home?”

“Yes, please.”

“Then yes, I will. I will see you at Kate's.” Noh-Varr kissed Tommy, and allowed Tommy to run his hand across Noh-Varr's neck, though he bared his teeth when Tommy tried to do it to the other side. “I reek of you. Leave it.”

“Fine, fine. See you later.” Then he disappeared.

Noh-Varr opened the saddlebags and placed their purchases inside. Bucky climbed onto the bike behind them, and they took off, back toward Steve's apartment building. Bucky put their arms around him and pressed their head against Noh-Varr's broad back, even though it wasn't the back they wanted. They'd be home soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favorite chapter. Comment if you think so too! (Or if you just want to tell me what you think. :3)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we've made it to the end, guys!! :D 
> 
> Warning in this chapter for discussion of what happened last chapter, and reverse ABO (as in, Steve's an alpha but he isn't always on top.) If that's not your thing you can just skip the sex scene near the end.
> 
> Edit: A kind person mentioned that many people may not know what non-binary even means. Honestly, Googling it might produce a more comprehensive explanation, but basically a non-binary person, like Bucky, is a transgender individual who does not identify with either male or female gender, preferring to identify differently. Since this is ABO, Bucky doesn't identify as omega or alpha, though they feel more comfortable as omega than otherwise. Bucky prefers the neutral pronoun singular they, which is conjugated as they, them, their, theirs, themself. Again, Google is your friend for more information.

Noh-Varr helped Bucky bring all of their purchases up to Steve's apartment, which Bucky appreciated. They knew that Noh-Varr didn't like being in a Stark owned building. He kept looking around out of the corner of his eye, like he was afraid someone was going to jump him at any moment. Bucky could relate. They didn't live in the Tower for that very reason – having the other Avengers around made them claustrophobic. Having Jarvis watch them at all hours of the day – they couldn't do it. But they weren't stupid; Tony seemed to genuinely care for Steve, which meant that he'd probably bought the entire apartment building, replaced the staff with his own people, and controlled all the surveillance.

At least there wasn't any surveillance in the apartment itself – both they and Steve swept for bugs and cameras regularly. It was important that both of them felt safe in their apartment, and Bucky wished Noh-Varr felt safe there, too. Last they'd known, Noh-Varr was living completely off the grid in a shipping container somewhere. What good that did with the ankle monitor, they weren't sure, but they worried about him.

“Thank you. For the help and for taking me out today. I appreciate it.”

“It's not a problem. You're good company.”

“Let me know if I can do anything about that. I mean it.” Bucky let their gaze go towards the floor for a second. “Take care of yourself.”

“I'll be fine,” Noh-Varr said tightly. “But I will. When your man is done his rut, anyway. I can smell the pheromones from here.”

Bucky smiled at that. “Yeah. I'll see you around.”

“See you.” Noh-Varr put his hands in his pockets and looked around again suspiciously before stalking away towards the stairs. He had a _thing_ about elevators that Bucky blamed on JARVIS. 

Bucky unlocked the door, and took two trips to bring all the bags and boxes inside. They could smell Steve, too, and hear him. It sounded like he was awake and working himself desperately towards orgasm. Bucky wasn't really feeling up to having sex right now. The confrontation at the store still stung bitterly, and they were already worried what Steve would think about their makeover. They locked the door again quietly, and hung up their keys. Then they waited there until they heard Steve cry out their name with his orgasm before heading into the bedroom. 

Steve was laying there, flushed and covered in come, still gripping his dick where his knot was swollen and sore looking. “Bucky, you're back. Sorry, I couldn't um.”

“It's your rut Steve, you don't have to apologize.”

“Right. Er. You smell really fucking good.”

“I don't want to have sex right now, Steve. I – can we talk about it? Can you?”

“Uh. Yeah. Yeah, just give me five minutes. Five minutes, okay?” Steve got up like he wasn't in the throes of his rut and headed into the bathroom, the shower turning on a few seconds after.

Bucky took the time to field strip the bed of its sheets and the plastic rut-proof cover underneath, and replaced them with fresh ones, taking the come stiff sheets straight to the washing machine. That was one good thing about the future – all the appliances were much better. Though it'd taken Steve a while to figure out the new technology and Bucky even longer, the advances to home improvement really were stunning and even useful, though there seemed to always be too many damn buttons on everything.

Steve came out of the bathroom freshly scrubbed, with damp hair and a fresh pair of black boxers on. He stank of beta pheromones, which meant he'd been into his rut-suppressant stash in the closet again. Nothing cleared out a rut like beta pheromones. Omega scent would make it worse, and the smell of another alpha could bring on rut-induced rage, but the smell of beta was like a splash of bleach to the face. Totally cleared out the rut, for a little while at least. It also _stank_. Bucky wrinkled their nose. It had to be worse for Steve.

“You really took one for the team, huh?”

Steve sat down on the freshly made bed next to Bucky and put a hand on their shoulder. “You wanted to talk, and I said I would. Besides, it worked in the Army, right?”

“Ugh, don't remind me.”

Ruts in the army had been awful. They hadn't had time for soldiers to take a week off, especially ones as important as Steve. Most of the soldiers were on serious suppressants, but nothing seemed to stick with Steve's metabolism. Or Bucky's, but that had been a close kept secret at the time. Steve had always been in a foul mood during his ruts, especially if they were out in the field, as they usually were. He'd soak a handkerchief in beta pheromone and tie it around his nose and mouth, and keep working. And he'd been completely miserable, of course, but no one had ever been able to dissuade Steve when he'd gotten an idea in his head.

“So what happened? Did you not have a good time? I like your hair.” Steve reached out and curled Bucky's bangs around his finger, smiling. “It's very you.”

Bucky sighed, and tucked themself into Steve's chest. “Most of it was good. Don't uh, look at your credit card statement until I get paid, okay? I can cover it.”

“You know I've got more money than I could ever possibly spend, right? Pepper tried to explain it to me once; something about back pay and promotions and investments, because apparently Howard used my money to invest in his own company. So you don't have to worry about it.”

“You being rich is never gonna sit right in my head.”

“Tell me about it. Sometimes I still get up in the morning expecting my feet to come down on a cracked wooden floor, and I wonder why I'm not cold from the window draft.”

“Well anyway. I had a good time, for the most part. But then we went to MAC, it's a make up store. And I was already worried about it, because I don't really look like a girl, you know, and people make assumptions. And I'd been out a long time already around people I didn't know and I was just sort of wanting to come home.”

“This lady – she didn't really say anything to me, personally but - she didn't believe that Tommy was an alpha. He's kinda small.”

“Yeah. He's taller than I was. And of course he's small, he's a speedster. I don't think that kid could gain weight if he tried.”

“Yeah, well, the lady was insistent that he was an omega and she – she asked Noh-Varr how he could _let_ his omega talk to her that way, like Tommy was property or something. That just because she'd decided that he was an omega, he had no value at all. No mind of his own. It was – Steve, how could she say something like that?” 

“I don't know, Buck. I never used to think that treating people like people was anything special, but it seems to be, especially now. What happened?”

“Um. This other worker came and told her to go on lunch. Then she was worried that she was going to lose her job because apparently the lady was her manager. But Tommy said he was going to take care of it. He got the district manager's number. I think he might threaten to sue.”

“Do you think you'd want her to apologize?”

“I don't know. I don't think that'd make it better. Steve, she made me feel. Like I was nothing. Like everything about myself, my identity, was just wiped away in her blanket assumptions about me. If she thinks that about me, other people do too. It's – it's terrifying, Steve. How is anyone ever gonna look at me and not see a man? See an alpha, who've they've already decided should act a certain way? Why can't they be like you?”

“I don't know, Bucky. I really don't. I'm sorry.”

“It's. Well, it's not okay but. Thank you. For being you. Don't ever stop being you, Steve. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Steve kissed them then, long and slow and deep. When he pulled away, he was flushed again. “Sorry. I can't make it stop, apparently. God, I want you so much.”

“It's alright Steve. Rut isn't anything you need to be ashamed about, you know that, right?”

“I should be able to control myself.” Steve was panting now, his pupils dilated.

“I got a tongue piercing.”

“What?”

“A tongue piercing. See?” Buck opened their mouth to show him.

“Oh. That's – wow. When can you um - ?”

Bucky grinned then, wickedly. “I can suck your dick in a couple days, when it's healed all the way.”

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah I think – I think I might like that.”

“You think so? What do you think about fucking that toy I got you while I fuck you?”

Steve blushed a deep red, like he always did when Bucky talked filthy to him. “I'd really like that.”

“Good. Go get it for me.”

Bucky stripped off their clothes while Steve was pulling out the box in the closet that held their sex toys. Bucky would never say anything, but Steve was a kinky bastard; he always had been. In this age of internet ordering and websites that catered to even the most obscure sexual fetish, Steve had amassed a veritable army of sex toys, even before he'd found Bucky. And once Bucky had found out about it, they'd added to the collection on a regular basis.

The newest toy they'd gotten Steve was a penetrable toy designed after an omega female's vagina. Steve had blushed like a virgin when he'd opened it, but Bucky knew for a fact that Steve was still attracted to women, and there was a different shape and texture to a vagina, especially an omega's, which was made to accommodate a knot, that even an omega male couldn't replicate. It wasn't for everyone; Bucky knew some alphas that only liked omega males, and alphas that only liked females but felt awkward with an omega because there was so much room. But for Steve – well. Steve didn't really have that size problem.

Generally it was considered strange for an alpha to want to bottom, but Steve fucking loved it. He even liked taking Bucky's knot some times, even though he wasn't really equipped to deal with it and they had to take it slow. It helped that Bucky's knot wasn't natural, and wasn't as large as an alpha male's knot could be. It still felt damn good, and there were times when Bucky really wanted to be on top.

Like now.

When Steve came back with the toy and the compatible lube, Bucky practically pounced on him, shoving him to the bed hard enough to make the frame groan, and then climbed on top of him. Steve arched underneath them, almost completely lost to his rut now. He panted and moaned, his knot already starting to swell at the base of his cock.

“Fuck me Bucky, _please_ .” 

“I'll fuck you when I damn well feel like it.” Bucky growled, and ground their hips together. They bit Steve's neck, right over the hot spot he had on the left side, and ran their hands up across Steve perfect fucking body. The pheromones pouring off him left Bucky reeling, and they could feel slick between their legs.

But that wasn't how this was going to go; Steve wasn't going to get to fuck that tonight, because Bucky was in charge. Bucky grabbed the toy and ripped open the lube packet with their teeth, pouring a generous amount over both the toy and Steve's dick. They stroked Steve's cock until the man was writhing, and then pushed Steve down into the toy, reveling in the look of pleasure on Steve's face.

“Ah, fuck.”

“You like that baby? Like it when I fuck you?”

“Yeah. Yes. Fuck.”

“Gonna be a good Alpha and knot this for me?”

“I will. Whatever you want.”

“Good. Eat me out and fuck yourself until you knot this.” Bucky directed, laying down, spreading their legs, and pulling Steve down between them.

Steve went willingly, one hand going to his dick and the toy and working himself up so he could knot it. Eating Bucky out had always been one of his favorite activities, even back when he was small and sickly. More than half the time Steve was too sick to keep a knot or actually fuck Bucky through their heats, but he'd been more than happy enough to eat Bucky out.

Now was no different. His tongue lapped up Bucky's slick with enthusiasm. The noises he made when he started fucking Bucky with his tongue were amazing. Bucky's own cock ached with need but Bucky didn't touch it yet. Because it wasn't their original knot, it was harder to predict when it would pop, and they had no intention of doing so until they were buried inside Steve.

“Stop.”

Steve actually whined, and pulled back, looking up at Bucky with a desperate, slick covered face.

“Take my slick and open yourself up for me. How's that knot coming?”

“C-close.”

“You'd better hurry then. I want to fuck you while you're coming.”

“The things you say to me.” Steve panted, but did as he was told, bringing his free hand up between Bucky's legs and covering it with slick. He rolled over so he was on his side, and continued to move the toy across his dick while he opened himself up. It was obscene. It made Bucky want to fucking _mount_ him. 

“I'm – ready.”

“Yeah?”

Steve's breathing hitched; he'd slowed down fucking the toy considerably, he was obviously trying not to come. “Y-yeah.”

“Good.”

Bucky moved so they were standing on the carpet at the edge of the bed, and they pulled Steve down to them, grabbing his hips when they were close enough, lifting them, positioning themself at his entrance. “Come for me.”

Steve did, with a shout, his hand fisting the sheets, the other shoving the toy on himself as far as it would go. Bucky entered him in that moment, and couldn't stop themself from moaning at how slick and tight Steve was, as his muscles rippled with his orgasm. They fucked him in earnest as his orgasm went on and on and on, come leaking out of the end of the toy as Steve shuddered and shook.

Bucky was close now, so they moved Steve into the mounting position so that he'd be comfortable during the tie, and let themself come. “ _Fuck_ Steve, you're so fucking gorgeous.” 

After they'd both stopped coming, Bucky used their cybernetic arm to take most of Steve's weight and climb up onto the bed behind him, careful not to jostle him too much from where they were still tied together. Their knot wouldn't last as long as Steve's so they'd probably be able to separate before Bucky could take the toy off Steve for cleaning.

Steve was already mostly asleep, the rut kicking his ass again. But he was smiling, and cuddled back into Bucky and said, “Was good. Thanks Buck.”

“Of course.”

They kissed slowly, until Steve couldn't keep his eyes open any more. Bucky gathered him up in their arms and pressed kisses to their back. In a moment they'd get up and clean up, get Steve's meds and more Gatorade, take the toy off and clean up Steve's mess. They'd put their clothes away, maybe show them off to Steve if he was awake enough for it.

But for now they'd stay right here, with this amazing man who understood them so completely, who was so gentle and kind, who supported them even when he didn't know what the right answers were. There was really nowhere else Bucky would rather be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> Bridge, the last written part but second part chronologically, is up!
> 
> Comments are always welcome!!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make me feel special, and encourage me to edit the massive second part of this series. :3


End file.
